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Afghanistan and Obama’s base
There’s a notion gaining ground that President Obama, by opting for a troop increase in Afghanistan, is somehow faltering on campaign promises and thus “betraying his base.” What nonsense. Obama never said he’d withdraw troops from Afghanistan. If anything, he said the opposite. This CNN report is from July 21, 2008, before he had even secured the Democratic nomination: “The
A dead art?
“We seem to be on the edge of a paradigm shift.” Oh my, that sounds important. Let’s read on and see what downtown composer and pretentious blowhard Glenn Branca has to say. “Orchestras are struggling to stay alive, rock has been relegated to the underground, jazz has stopped evolving and become a dead art…” Ok, let’s stop there, because Branca,
On Eskelin-Deutsch-Miller
In the current Philadelphia Weekly: Ellery Eskelin-Erik Deutsch-Allison MillerSun., Nov. 29, 8pm. $12. International House, 3701 Chestnut St. 215-895-6546 www.arsnovaworkshop.org Along with his husky, exploratory tenor saxophone voice, Ellery Eskelin has displayed a flair for intriguing trio concepts on discs such as Forms and Arcanum Moderne. This new unit features Erik Deutsch, an emerging keyboardist (Charlie Hunter, Madlove) who’s making
On John Hollenbeck
My preview of John Hollenbeck at (Le) Poisson Rouge (Monday, Nov. 30), in this week’s Time Out New York.
A note to Dennis Kucinich
Fresh from his sanctimonious vote against health care reform in congress, Dennis Kucinich of Ohio appeared on “Hardball” tonight to rail against President Obama’s impending announcement on troops to Afghanistan. I’m not taking a position in advance of Obama’s address next Tuesday. But I do want to object to Kucinich’s statement (I paraphrase) that “we owe a debt to Afghan
“My children were crying on top of my wife’s body.”
That’s one of many quotes from survivors featured in “Terror in Mumbai,” a new HBO documentary narrated by Fareed Zakaria. It’s solidly in the running for the most profoundly disturbing hour of television I’ve ever seen. Now, a year having passed since the attacks, and with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh currently visiting Washington, it’s a good time to reflect
On Tim Berne and Matt Mitchell
I have a fun Q&A with Tim Berne and Matt Mitchell up at PMP: the online magazine of the Philadelphia Music Project. The PMP mag used to be an annual print book sent out to members and not available commercially. It’s been reborn as a bloggy, regularly updated WordPress site. Much better.
Which Muslims?
On the planet where rightists and tea-partiers live, “Muslims” are engaged in an undifferentiated jihad against the West; all are guilty until proven innocent. On the planet where some lefties and liberals live, “Muslims” in the West are terribly offended by the U.S. and NATO making war against “Muslims,” which leads to tragedies like the massacre at Fort Hood. On